This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
This invention relates to automating the operation of medical devices.
Significant progress has been made in automating the navigation of medical devices in the body. Remote navigation systems, such as the Niobe® magnetic navigation system available from Stereotaxis, Inc., St. Louis, Mo., allows a physician to remotely orient the distal end of a medical device in the body. More recently, an automated advancer for advancing and retracting the device in the body has also become available, allowing more fully automated catheter navigation systems. However, a practical means of completely automating (under the supervision of a physician) the operation of medical devices, whereby a medical device can be automatically navigated to a particular location and then operated to perform some diagnostic or therapeutic procedure has not been available. This is particularly true with respect to automating the operation of conventional manually operated medical devices.